Roundtree, Oney spark Warrior victory
By Carl Gonder
Metro Sports Report
WATERLOO – The vocal front-row student section at Waterloo West High School wore pink t-shirts that read “Pappas’ Posse” on Friday night. But the real noise came from the Warriors vaunted 1-2-1-1 full court press.
Alissa Oney hit four 3-pointers and Latasha Roundtree helped spark a big third quarter as No. 6 Washington forced 22 turnovers and overcame No. 10 Waterloo West, 65-42 in a Mississippi Valley Conference game at the Wahawk Gym.
The t-shirts were in support of longtime Waterloo West Coach Dr. Anthony Pappas, one of the longest serving coaches in the Mississippi Valley Conference. This might be one of Pappas’ most talented teams in 30-plus years at the school, but Washington’s depth won out.
“Our depth was really beneficial in this game for us, no doubt about it,” Warrior Coach Frank Howell said.
Howell also noted that it was a game of two halves. West (1-1, 1-1 MVC) led 24-23 at halftime, but Washington (2-0, 2-0) outscored the Wahawks 42-18 in the second half, including 20-6 in the final quarter.
”That was a really great second half for us. We had trouble with their 1-3-1 half court trap in the first half,” he said. “In the second half we got more comfortable finding the gaps. Then we got some shots to drop and got our full court pressure going.”
Eight of the Warriors 12 turnovers were committed in the first half.
Oney finished with a team-high 14 points and Roundtree, a 5-foot-6 junior, had 12 points, three assists and two steals. The Warriors overcame that sluggish start to outscore Waterloo West 22-12 in the decisive third frame and build a 45-36 lead.
Howell said he thought Roundtree gave his team some nice energy off the bench.
“What she is able to do is provide some great dribble penetration and she does a good job driving the ball and attracting the defender and getting people open,” Howell said. “I liked how she involved others and the ball pressure she provided on the other end was good, too.”
Roundtree authored three key third-quarter plays that turned the game for Washington. With her team holding a 30-28 lead, Roundtree had two steals, a layup and two free throws. When Layloni Beard drained a four-footer with 1:31 left in the quarter, the Warrior lead had swelled to 42-32.
Washington’s full-court press took its toll in the fourth quarter. Jazz Royster’s put-back made it 50-36. Dawson got a bunny off a post-feed. Pappas called timeout, but Oney went to work to seal the win. She drained a 3-pointer on the next possession to give her team a 55-36 lead at the 4:25 mark. Royster got a steal and a layup off the full court press and Oney sealed the win with two bombs in a two-minute span. Suddenly, Washington led 63-40 with 2:37 to play and the game was out of reach.
West’s Jadyn Spencer led all scorers with 24 points. Jordan Johnston added 10 points. Spencer was a first team All-Mississippi Valley Conference selection a year ago. She will play softball on scholarship at the University of Alabama next year.
“Spencer is probably one of the most versatile post players that you can imagine,” Howell said. “She forced Tia (Dawson) outside and you have to play her honestly because she is capable of dropping the three, then she can also drive it and has a variety of post moves. We knew that Jadyn Spencer was capable of having lots of points, and she did. Our goal was to make sure that we did not have anybody else that went bonkers on us.”
Dawson picked up her second foul with 29 seconds to play in the first quarter. She left the game and did not return until the 6:11 mark of the second quarter. Howell said he will need to manage Dawson’s foul count closely.
“Fouls on Tia are a big concern for us and (her two fouls early) did change the dynamic of the game,” he said. “Fortunately, we have a lot of kids we can look to off the bench. We were fortunate that she didn’t pick up her third foul.”
Dawson did not commit another personal foul and finished with 10 rebounds, eight points and four blocks.
The Warriors had only one field goal in the first five minutes of the opening stanza and trailed 22-13 when Johnston nailed a 15-footer along the baseline. That was the Wahawks’ largest lead.
The Warriors attempted a whopping 35 3-pointers, hitting nine (26 percent) and were 25-for-73 (34 percent) overall.
Howell said the number of 3-point shots his team attempted did not concern him.
“It really depends on the night,” he said. “With the 1-3-1 zone they were playing, we were able to get the corner shot to drop. Once we hit some, we were then able to get our press going. It always depends on how teams play us. In a game like this, we might have to take more three-pointers than a team playing tight man-to-man.”
Washington won the sophomore game, 52-15.
WASHINGTON (65): Ashley Piper 2 0-1 8, Alissa Oney 5 0-0 14, Tia Dawson 3 2-2 8, Jazz Royster 2 0-0 4, Jordon Pilcher 1 0-0 2, Latasha Roundtree 3 4-5 12, Janay Pritchett 3 0-0 7, Kelli Klaus 0 0-0 0, Madison Kramer 1 0-0 2, Abby Herb 0 0-0 0, Layloni Beard 3 0-1 6, Gail Barnum 0 0-1 0, Jordan Carr 1 0-0 2, Lauren Goodlove 0 0-0 0, Brooke Foreman 1 0-0 2, Chelsey McMahon 0 0-0 0, Callie Stone 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 6-10 65.
WATERLOO WEST (42): Sand 0 2-2 2, Roe 0 0-0 0, Puk 1 0-4 2, Swartzendrubber 0 0-0 0, Johnston 5 0-0 10, Duric 2 0-0 4, Thomas 0 0-0 0, Anderson 0 0-2 0, Spencer 9 5-8 24. Totals 17 7-16 42.
Halftime – West 24, Washington 23. 3-pointers – Washington 9 (Piper 2, Roundtree 2, Pritchett 1, Oney 4), West 1 (Spencer). Rebounds — Washington 36 (Dawson 10), West 40 (Johnston 10).
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